Radius Indiana Joins National Small Business Week Celebration

BEDFORD, Ind. (May 6, 2019) — Radius Indiana is joining the U.S. Small Business Administration in celebrating National Small Business Week, an annual event to recognize the nation’s top small businesses, entrepreneurs, small business advocates and champions, and Radius is actively taking steps with new programs to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs across its eight-county territory.

This year, May 5-11 is National Small Business Week. As part of the celebration, the U.S. Small Business Administration takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from all 50 states and U.S. territories. Every day, they’re working to grow small businesses, create 21st-century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness.

More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, and they create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. The Radius region is home to nearly 5,000 small business, making up over 90 percent of the work establishments throughout the eight-county area.

Anthony Christian, Director of Data Analysis and Development at Radius, is a certified business advisor for the Indiana Small Business Development Center. He has been holding entrepreneur/help sessions in the Radius region to offer free help and assistance to entrepreneurs and small business owners who are at any stage of a business development project.

“This is a new initiative for Radius and we are excited to partner with ISBDC to connect and offer assistance to small businesses,” said Christian. “No matter where they may be in their process–from finding an attorney to copyrighting something, to getting connected to a CPA for tax help, we can offer that kind of help. These sessions allow us to work directly with the small business owners that are the big contributors to our regional economy.”

Christian worked with local economic development organizations (LEDOs) to expand the work that ISBDC is offering in the Radius region. Together, the groups organized the help sessions to support entrepreneurs. Dubois County was one of the first counties to recognize the value of bringing the service to their own community’s small businesses.

“The Radius partnership with ISBDC is a very valuable asset for the entrepreneurs in Dubois County,” said Ed Cole, President of Dubois Strong. “The service that Anthony is providing is very important and I look forward to what will come from his sessions.”

As part of the new strategic plan that Radius adopted in the fall of 2018, Support for Small Business and Entrepreneurship has become a top focus of the organization. The SWITCH Study, with collaboration from the Southern Indiana Development Commission,  is intended to help establish a network of entrepreneurial centers in this region and allow the sharing of resources throughout the network. Once completed, this study will bring together the public and private sectors by building an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs throughout the region. The study is expected to be completed this fall.

In addition, Radius will be hosting a pitch competition for high school students and adult entrepreneurs in October. The competition is meant to encourage original thinking with a business-plan focus. More details will be available in the coming months.

The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.